Ranjit Singh Boparan, the president and owner of the UK’s largest chicken processor, 2 Sisters Food Group, has met the King to discuss donating food to people in need.
Along with other leaders from the food industry, Boparan was invited to an event to mark the King’s Coronation Food Project, a new scheme to encourage major supermarkets and food manufacturers to join FareShare’s innovative “Alliance Manufacturing” programme to redistribute even more surplus food to charities nationwide.
Last week 2 Sisters said it would give away a million meals to those in need before Christmas, in partnership with Marks & Spencer and food charity FareShare.
“This project is a testament to the King and signals a significant step-up in the way our sector can support those in need,” said Boparan. “We’re leveraging the power of a formidable alliance of manufacturers and retailers never seen before, and I am delighted to be able to play a big role in delivering meals for those who most need it.”
“It is astonishing to realise that in the UK in 2023 people are struggling to feed themselves at a level not seen before. This cannot be right. It’s our moral responsibility to come together and drive change at this difficult time. Nobody should be going to sleep on an empty stomach. This is just the start of a journey and I’ll be working with my partner customers, Fareshare and the IGD to ensure we grow this initiative in the months ahead.”
The Coronation Food Project intends to provide even more food to support the 13 million people in the UK experiencing food insecurity by targeting all forms of waste in the food supply chain and building on the food industry’s existing initiatives to redistribute surplus food to charities.
George Wright, CEO of FareShare, added: “The response from the food industry leaders and their teams has been incredible. I shared the idea with them, and they’ve really taken it on, working together to make it a reality. The food is already getting to our charities – school clubs, community centres and a whole spectrum of support services – and with so many families impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, it is making a difference already. We are all incredibly grateful to them.”